On Tuesday, November 21, 2017 at 1:08:50 PM UTC, sm_jamieson wrote:
My fireplace is made of tiles - stuck over a former which seems to be a mix of concrete and iron strengtheners.
The tiles were originally stuck by bedding in some type of cement product that is very tough and I cannot remove it without damaging a lot more of the fireplace. So I need to "glue" back the loose tiles.
The fireplace is not used much and will not need to withstand very much heat.

The glue needs to be very thin so the replaced tiles are not noticeably proud of the others - so probably not epoxy or contact adhesive, or tile adhesive.

So which glue to use ?
1. PVA - probably would work to some extent
2. PVA + SBR - a bit better than 2.
3. PVA and/or SBR + cement slurry
4. Gorilla glue - oozing edges might be a pain
5. Anything else ?

Simon.

Well in the end I used gorilla glue (polyurethane glue), which I already had, and as you expect, had to keep pressing the 6 tiles back down as it expanded, since 2 food cans on each tile did not hold them down enough. And a bit of oozing to scrape off, but the tiles are smooth so a sharp knife works fine.
And it seems very solid.
Not quite up to epoxy level, but should be fine.
I'll remember to tips about epoxy for the future.
Why do most shops (inc. toolstation and screwfix) only sell the rapid araldite these days ?

Simon.
Simon.